Pat Casey's name surfaced as a potential candidate minutes after the surprise resignation of Arizona State baseball coach Pat Murphy went public.

However, Oregon State's successful veteran coach - Casey is 505-314-4 heading into his 16th season at OSU, with two NCAA and two Pacific-10 Conference championships to his credit - said no one at ASU has contacted him about becoming Murphy's permanent successor.

And while he's obviously following the mysterious goings-on in Tempe, his only concern now is working with a talent-laden 2010 Beavers team that should contend for its first Pac-10 title since 2006.

"I have not spoken to anybody from Arizona State whatsoever, zero," Casey said Tuesday morning, speaking above the steady pounding of workmen installing new doors and windows outside his corner Gill Coliseum office.

"Part of being in this profession, and of coaching at this level, is that a lot of times your name arises (for vacancies), and those are things you don't really control. All we're doing now is getting guys through their workouts, getting them to Thanksgiving and getting them ready to come back for finals.

"That part is exciting. I've seen some guys make jumps in fall ball," and he's eager to resume individual workouts and official practice in January to prepare for the Feb. 19 opener at Hawaii.

Casey said he still doesn't know exactly why Murphy, one of his closest friends in Pac-10 coaching, resigned. ASU officials have not been forthcoming and Murphy hasn't commented yet.

"I feel bad for the situation; I would feel bad for anybody. I don't know at all what happened," Casey said. "Obviously we had some great battles on the field with Murph."

The Sun Devils have evolved into OSU's top rival over the past five seasons, when either the Beavers (2005-06) or ASU (2007-09) won the Pac-10 championship.

"What he did on the field speaks for itself," Casey said. "There's been a great rivalry there and how we competed against one another was always something we looked forward to."

Ken Knutson, fired earlier this season after 17 years as Washington's skipper, is ASU's interim coach for the 2010 season and could possibly be considered for permanent status if the Sun Devils have a good season. If not, ASU's hiring will be a national story because it's one of the top programs in the country.

"They've won five national championships, the history of the program is outstanding," Casey said. "It speaks for itself."

Others identified as potential candidates by various media sources besides Casey include Tim Corbin of Vanderbilt; Vanderbilt assistant Josh Holliday, a one-time assistant/recruiting coordinator under Murphy; and Oregon coach George Horton, formerly the coach at Cal State Fullerton.

Also, Dave Serrano, Horton's successor at Fullerton; former ASU assistant John Pawlowski, head coach at Auburn; Rich Hill of San Diego; Steve Rodriguez of Pepperdine; Jim Schlossnagle of TCU; and Turtle Thomas of Florida International.

"You see all kinds of names show up, it's the nature of our business," Casey said.

Casey said the changes at Washington, where Lindsay Meggs has succeeded Knutson, and at ASU will add intrigue in 2010 as opposing coaches learn the styles and philosophies of the newcomers, and vice-versa.

"Obviously nobody feels good about the way someone lost their job," Casey said. "(But) it will be a new experience to figure out what somebody is doing at Washington or Arizona State. It's exciting to see some new people come into the league."

Pape Grand Slam

The entire schedule isn't official yet because a signed contract has not been returned but the Beavers will open their home season on Feb. 26-28 against Tennessee at Goss Stadium in the third annual Pape Grand Slam. PGE Park, the site of the previous two events, is unavailable because of construction and a grass field eliminates Volcanoes Stadium in Keizer as a potential venue .

Casey expects the temporary right-field bleachers will be in place on opening day, raising capacity to about 3,200.

Season-ticket renewals were mailed last week. The Beavers will play 33 home games, six more than last season, and the $200 price is the same as 2009.

"I hope the fans recognize that, and know that we want them coming to the ballpark," Casey said.

The stadium improvement surcharge on season and individual tickets remains in effect for the fourth year.

"It's paying off the remaining balance of the stadium expansion," Casey said.

Recruiting continues

The Beavers added 12 players in the fall signing period and will likely add some more in the spring period to fill holes created when current players and some incoming recruits turn professional.

"I don't know if you're ever done recruiting, that's always open-ended," Casey said. "Guessing who is going to get drafted and who will sign continues to get tougher because fewer and fewer kids are taking small amounts of money out of high school. Maybe five or six years ago they would have signed."

Poyer update

Casey expects freshman Jordan Poyer, a safety on the football team, to join the baseball program full-time in January for individual workouts and the 2010 season. An outfielder, Poyer was a three-time all-state selection at Astoria High.

He was Florida's 42nd-round selection in the 2009 MLB draft and was the 2009 Brian T. Meehan Oregon Baseball Player of the Year.

"I'm sure we'll have Jordan when we come back after Christmas break. I don't see that as an issue," Casey said. "(Football coach) Mike Riley has been fabulous to work with. There has never been a person that either one of us has an issue with whether he works out with football or baseball."

Several other players have done the baseball/football combination in this decade. Former pitcher Dallas Buck (2004-06) lettered as a safety in 2003; outfielder Greg Laybourne lettered on the 2006 NCAA-championship team before moving to football full-time from 2006-08.

Players healing

Freshman infielder Danny Hayes (knee), junior pitcher Josh Osich (elbow) and redshirt sophomore pitcher Taylor Starr (elbow) continue to heal from recent operations. Hayes was injured in spring practice, Osich had surgery after the 2009 season and Starr missed virtually the entire 2009 season after having Tommy John surgery in March.

"For the most part the guys who are rehabbing are doing well," Casey said.